What is the basis for the "one phone call" you get when arrested?

A

azurefly

Moderator
I mean, it doesn't date back to the writing of the Constitution, that's for sure! ;)

So, does anyone know where our "right to one phone call" is enshrined, legally?

Prior to the telephone, what right did you have to contact someone to come bail you out or otherwise defend you legally, once you were arrested?

A guy I work with told me the story of his arrest on DUI charges. He told a nasty story of the unpleasant 17 hours he spent in the county jail. The phone, he said, had wires that you had to hold connected in order to make a call! (Just this side of not working at all.)

Why is it "one" phone call? Are you guaranteed "when" to get to make it? Is there a maximum amount of time you get to spend on it?

I mean, where did this notion that is so ingrained in our public consciousness that you can't be denied "one phone call" come from in the first place?

Of course, I welcome all input but would specifically like to hear from those with legal expertise if possible.


-azurefly
 
I have never seen it written down anywhere, but I believe it to be joined at the hip with Miranda. You have the right to counsel, but how do you get counsel without calling them?

A lot of it has to do with simplicity. It is easier and better if someone can bond/bail you out as soon as possible. I know that we give two phone calls at our city jail, and you get two more at the county.
 
Its an invention of the media. You have a right to council but no law, unless its a local ord says anything about "one phone call". And you are not limited to one in most places after your booked you can use the phone bank in jail.
 
When I went through the rigorous 1-week course :D to be a jailer in Texas (and I was already a peace officer), I'm pretty sure that Texas Jail Standards were to allow at least 2 completed phone calls within 4 hours of intake. Time permitting, and provided you're not an a-hole, most will give a little more lattitude than that, at least where I worked.
 
A Co-worker got put in jail once. (For over $800 in unpaid parking tickets.:eek: ) He said you could use the phone as much as you wanted as long as you wheren't an a-hole, kept your voice down, and there wasn't a line to use the phone. He made a few calls to his friends (I was working that night so I didn't hear about it until later.) so they could help him make bail.
 
It actually depends on the jurisdiction. There isn't any "right". Mostly state law, but some county and city law, determines the calls. It ranges from 1 to 3, with some states actually allowing "as many as reasonable" for the person to contact a family member, bondsman and lawyer. These are local calls at no cost to the arrestee. Many places will allow as many collect calls as the person wants to make following the freebies.

Florida law allows for one telephone call after you have completed the booking process.
 
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